With advances in molecular biology techniques has come increased interest in analyzing smaller and smaller samples with ever-increasing resolution and precision. Some of this is driven by the realization that population heterogeneity can often obscure salient features of a sample. Limited sample volume is also a consideration for some applications.
While existing techniques are, in theory, capable of extracting significant information from physically small samples, the effectiveness of such techniques has been limited by their ability to resolve structural features on such small samples. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for methods and related devices capable of obtaining genomic information based on single molecules or other physically small samples. The value of such methods would be enhanced if such methods were capable of improving upon the 1000 bp (1 kb) accuracy achieved by current techniques.